DF&A’s task when designing the interior of this luxury apartment was to bring a sense of human scale into a glass-and-steel aerie hundreds of feet above the city. The epic side of the apartment was obvious. The domestic side — that was our job.
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The sublime merging of blue and red in a piece from Dan Colen’s 'Rainbow Paintings' collection meditates on the almost mystical experience of viewing the horizon line at this elevation.
In this complete apartment renovation, we combined multiple units to create a sanctuary for a growing family above the canopy of Central Park. Here, ribbed walnut paneling connects the kitchen space to a light-filled breakfast nook, and adds warmth and texture to both, while the marble of the wall, counter, and floating bar lends a classic grandeur.
Renovating this Chelsea apartment meant reconciling two seemingly competing goals: preserving the “lofty” feel of the space — the spare geometry and the high ceilings —and creating a warm and inviting home. In the kitchen and dining area, we installed dark walnut cabinetry and dropped the ceiling to create a more intimate space set aside from the dining room. The luster of the kitchen millwork is mirrored in the dining area’s brass chandelier, whose angular shape is softened by a warm color and gentle sheen.
Sustainable design means working with nature instead of against it. Why shut out breezes and let in the full heat of the sun and then install air conditioning? DF&A’s approach to designing a fully sustainable lake house was to begin with common sense and an awareness of the site, and then to augment nature’s gifts with innovative high-tech solutions. The result, featured in Architecture Daily, was the first private residence in Northern Michigan to achieve LEED-gold certification.
